Gene Transfection of Human Turbinate Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Derived from Human Inferior Turbinate Tissues

Human turbinate mesenchymal stromal cells (hTMSCs) are novel stem cells derived from nasal inferior turbinate tissues. They are easy to isolate from the donated tissue after turbinectomy or conchotomy. In this study, we applied hTMSCs to a nonviral gene delivery system using polyethyleneimine (PEI) as a gene carrier; furthermore, the cytotoxicity and transfection efficiency of hTMSCs were evaluated to confirm their potential as resources in gene therapy. DNA-PEI nanoparticles (NPs) were generated by adding the PEI solution to DNA and were characterized by a gel electrophoresis and by measuring particle size and surface charge of NPs. The hTMSCs were treated with DNA-PEI NPs for 4 h, and toxicity of NPs to hTMSCs and gene transfection efficiency were monitored using MTT assay, fluorescence images, and flow cytometry after 24 h and 48 h. At a high negative-to-positive charge ratio, DNA-PEI NPs treatment led to cytotoxicity of hTMSCs, but the transfection efficiency of DNA was increased due to the electrostatic effect between the NPs and the membranes of hTMSCs. Importantly, the results of this research verified that PEI could deliver DNA into hTMSCs with high efficiency, suggesting that hTMSCs could be considered as untapped resources for applications in gene therapy.